Crowd Specialist📣 Job Ad

About the Role

Buro Happold is seeking a specialist Associate Director in Crowd Dynamics to join their team in Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. This role presents an opportunity to contribute to major projects in collaboration with industry experts. The incumbent will take on a technical and leadership role in the master planning of major projects, with a focus on specific, high-importance projects in Jeddah. The company is committed to achieving sustainable, equitable, social, and performance-driven outcomes.

Role Responsibilities

• Lead all crowd flow and pedestrian dynamics workstreams for specified projects in Jeddah.
• Oversee the development, calibration, and validation of complex crowd simulation models, including normal operations, event conditions, and emergency scenarios.
• Provide strategic guidance on pedestrian movement, ingress/egress, spatial planning, and operational design across the full project lifecycle.
• Integrate crowd insights into engineering master plans, mobility frameworks, building interfaces, and public realm design.
• Collaborate closely with master planning, engineering, transport, and architectural teams in Jeddah and across regional and global studios.
• Present modeling results, risk implications, and design recommendations to clients, authorities, and high-level stakeholders.
• Support project leadership in scope definition, program planning, and quality assurance for all crowd-related deliverables.
• Mentor team members and support the development of best practices, methodologies, and standards across the regional People Movement discipline.
• Contribute to the delivery of technical presentations and proposals as required.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Urban Planning, Transport, Architecture, or a related field.
• Proven experience with advanced crowd simulation tools such as MassMotion, Legion, Pathfinder, or STEPS.
• Strong technical foundation in pedestrian movement dynamics, crowd psychology, and human-centric design principles.
• Hands-on experience in applying crowd modeling outputs to inform engineering designs, operational strategies, and master planning decisions.
• Skill in leading multi-disciplinary workstreams and coordinating with complex project teams.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex technical data into clear design guidance.
• Demonstrated ability to engage effectively with clients, authorities, and high-level stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of large-scale, high-density, or high-risk environments, including event venues, mega/giga projects, transport hubs, cultural precincts, or mixed-use developments.
• Familiarity with Middle Eastern codes, regulations, and operating practices, or a willingness to adapt quickly.
• Higher qualifications or professional memberships are an advantage but not mandatory.

Key Skills

• Crowd dynamics and people movement engineering.
• Crowd modeling and simulation (MassMotion, Legion, Pathfinder, STEPS).
• Pedestrian movement, ingress/egress, spatial planning, and operational design.
• Integration into engineering master plans, mobility frameworks, building interfaces, and public realm design.
• Master planning, scope definition, program planning, and quality assurance.
• Mentoring and development of best practices and methodologies.
• Contribution to technical presentations and proposals.
• Pedestrian movement dynamics, crowd psychology, and human-centric design principles.
• Application of modeling outputs to engineering designs and operational strategies.
• Leading multi-disciplinary workstreams and coordinating teams.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills.
• Effective engagement with clients, authorities, and stakeholders.
• Experience in large-scale, high-density, or high-risk environments (event venues, mega/giga projects, transport hubs, cultural precincts, mixed-use developments).
• Familiarity with Middle Eastern codes and regulations, or ability to adapt to regional practices.

Additional Details

Buro Happold is committed to providing hybrid working arrangements, a competitive salary and benefits package, and a strong commitment to continuous professional development. Employees are entitled to two professional body memberships or subscriptions. The company values flexible working patterns and welcomes applications from individuals seeking flexibility in their careers. Our diverse workforce is key to our innovation, and we encourage applications from individuals from under-represented groups in the built environment. Please contact r@************************* if any adjustments are needed in the application process.